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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHere's one word for "white privilege" that might piss many of you off...
Last edited Wed Jun 25, 2014, 03:34 PM - Edit history (1)
Marijuana.
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/24318-a-bitter-harvest-california-marijuana-and-the-new-jim-crow
leftyohiolib
(5,917 posts)aikoaiko
(34,183 posts)dogknob
(2,431 posts)aikoaiko
(34,183 posts)... you thought you were communicating well.
dogknob
(2,431 posts)It can be, let's say, upsetting to realize that one's perhaps legitimately eco-conscious-fair-trade clothing business or whatever wouldn't exist without the startup money that came from a harvest or two of bud-trimming in Willits. Good money for hard work. One might feel they worked sufficiently hard to earn the right to ignore the fact that they took a shortcut to financial independence on the backs of people they will never meet.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)badtoworse
(5,957 posts)Wouldn't that solve the problem?
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)La Lioness Priyanka
(53,866 posts)dogknob
(2,431 posts)It's too easy to say I care about racism when racism may be responsible for the fact that anyone listens to my opinion at all.
EDIT: changed "I-language"because I do not mean a specific person here.
Tansy_Gold
(17,868 posts)dogknob
(2,431 posts)Throd
(7,208 posts)dogknob
(2,431 posts)Average Joe's attention span and such...
Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)Is re-writing
RainDog
(28,784 posts)Because Bell notices that white people are not getting arrested is something people have talked about concerning this issue, repeatedly. I and others have also noted that relaxation in laws (which is really what Bell is talking about) is happening more in areas of the nation with overwhelmingly white populations.
What this says is that the legal system is, throughout, entirely racist, as is the political system in this nation. Because assholes in Louisiana want to put someone in jail for life for simple possession under three strikes - people who disagree with this should engage in "self-prohibition" - as if that would stop the racist application of the law? lol.
Wisely, Michelle Alexander places the blame where it belongs - with the criminal justice system. As she also notes - whites most often sell to whites and blacks to blacks in segregated America. I'm sure you don't hear too much from black growers because they understand the danger - but I've seen videos from African-Americans who are also growers.
In addition, an African American couple that is very influential in Denver is also part of the state legal market and is, at least politically, friends with the Obamas - so, this issue is not simply black or white.
If someone wants to rectify the injustice, it's stupid to blame those who are supplying a demand - the demand comes from different groups within the nation, and, frankly, someone is going to supply it. California has an entire industry, as Bell notes, devoted to cultivation, etc.
People, many people, do not consider marijuana use a crime, outside of the RACIST law that treats marijuana possession as a crime. It is civil disobedience to refuse to acknowledge those laws.
Working to deny racists yet another reason to arrest African Americans is not participating in "white privilege" when people who support legalization are aware of the racist application of the law.
dogknob
(2,431 posts)"...In addition, an African American couple that is very influential in Denver is also part of the state legal market and is, at least politically, friends with the Obamas - so, this issue is not simply black or white."
Use of token blacks notwithstanding, you agree, as I do, with Alexander; it is not simply a black/white issue. It is a caste issue.
Under free-market capitalism, once you make some money, you don't necessarily have to choose who is going to suffer so that you can keep your money, make more money, and secure your future, but black/white/purple/whatever you must accept that others are going to suffer so that you do not.
"It is civil disobedience to refuse to acknowledge those laws"
Yes it is. It's also a lot easier to disobey the law if you happen to be a trustafarian.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)to pretend that everyone involved in this issue falls under that designation is reductionist to absurdity. People are in jail for this who are activists, as well, and a family in Washington State is looking at long jail sentences for growing marijuana in a state where it is legal to grow because the DEA went after them - even with current laws.
To note that everyone exploits others by their work isn't all that profound - it's sort of juvenile. The idea, in more sophisticated thought is "right work." Work that attempts to do something to add value to the world.
Because, if you want to go down that street, you should condemn Obama for being president because he's president of a racist nation. See how dumb that is? Yeah. That's the argument you and this person are making, ultimately.
But I recognize you want to provide an "opposing view" so I'll leave you to your thread. take care.
eta: whether or not I participate in a thread has a lot to do with how busy my schedule is. today, for instance, I've read half a dozen posts, posted something earlier in the 15 minutes I was here, replied to you. no one should assume anyone's reply or not indicates anything, fwiw.
btw, is it tokenism for Obama to be president?
dogknob
(2,431 posts)Stating that it is easier to participate in civil disobedience if you are a trustafarian does not mean that all people who participate in civil disobedience are trustafarians. Yes, there are people who actually practice civil disobedience knowing that there will be consequences and yes, they deserve our support.
Trying to change a doomed system while working within it presents paradoxical problems. I believe that what we are supposed to be doing here on DU is finding non-destructive ways to deal with these paradoxes.
An example of a simple paradox is Hillary Clinton. We know she's a corporatist. We know her Presidential campaign, if it happens, will rely on taking the American left hostage ("It's either me or The Knife-Wielding Troglodyte" . We know that endlessly talking about her (maybe) 2016 campaign helps the corpocracy by taking focus from the absolutely critical 2014 election... but we will vote for her because we don't want The Knife-Wielding Troglodyte to become POTUS. We get to fight the extreme right by supporting the center-right. That sucks.
What I am interested in is what we do to remove the paradox. What can we do to minimize the amount of support we give the system as we attempt to change it?
When I disagree with you, I am not necessarily "...want(ing) to provide an 'opposing view.'" I am asking a question.
Response to dogknob (Reply #26)
RainDog This message was self-deleted by its author.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)So none of these outcomes are exactly surprising.
quinnox
(20,600 posts)Just because Du is a liberal board, doesn't mean we all are "pot heads". I don't smoke or use any illegal drugs.
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)dogknob
(2,431 posts)C'mon. I've been here since 2009. Really?
nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)'"If one conceives of racism as a cellphone," Dyson explains, "then active malice is the ring tone on its highest volume, while passive indifference is the ring tone on vibrate. In either case, whether loudly or silently, the consequence is the same: A call is transmitted, a racial message is communicated."'
I don't think I've ever seen the concept explained so well.
dogknob
(2,431 posts)I was listening to the audio while making breakfast this morning. When that part started, I was dubious, but it turned out to be one of the better explanations I have heard.
I'm aware that referencing a film makes me easy-pickins for the "people-we-don't-talk-about-because-they-don't-exist-here-right?", but whatever. This sequence from Zwigoff's Ghost World (2001), as well as the rest of the subplot dealing with the subject of this clip, also did an excellent job of describing our "colorblind" fantasy.